The work of David Smith (b. 1906 in Decatur, Ind., d. 1965 Albany, N.Y.) is characterised by playful treatment of form and material, and by the ambiguities that he creates using bold silhouettes and spatial depth. His colourful constructions made of wood, stone and metal in the 1930s, which were influenced by African folk art, Picasso and Giacometti, were followed by complex biomorphic assemblages and constructions with a magical-surrealist feel that he made from machine-parts and objets trouvés. Finally, in sculptures that were close to architecture, he emphasised the special aesthetic appeal of their surfaces with his use of colour and polished stainless steel.